Curator and respected art historian Natalie Hershdorfer approached the mammoth project of whittling down a century of images into a concise snapshot through her eyes rather than an index.

"I went through the images without looking at the names," Hershdorfer says. "What emerged is that the star photographers are successful for a reason. These big names were featured because their work stood out from the rest."

"I was not looking for specific photographers or icons. I wanted to make a selection that represented the history of fashion photography but also included those iconic photos that stood well enough on their own, across any era."

Adding texture to the Gold Coast exhibition is vintage clothing from the Darnell Collection, which featured in a runway show at the opening on the Gold Coast, followed by a performance from fashion writer and jazz singer Glynis Traill-Nash. A sensory explosion.

Coming Into Fashion is at the Gold Coast Arts Centre until February 18, 2018.